


Alone No More

by RoamingTigress



Category: Alice In Wonderland - Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland (1951), Alice in Wonderland (Movies - Burton), Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-02
Updated: 2017-03-02
Packaged: 2018-09-27 23:40:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10057202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoamingTigress/pseuds/RoamingTigress
Summary: A sequel to The Girl and The Dragon, this story explores what it might be like if Lewis Carroll's bugbear came onto the dating scene ;)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Based off the 1982-1984 Nippon Animation version of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass. 
> 
> Harriet belongs to me, as does unnamed nasty dragon dude, Benny Bunny was from the series and the rest were created by Lewis Carroll.

Alone No More  
by Roaming Tigress

It was the day after Alice had visited Jabberwock in his castle; he made up a proper English breakfast for the girl just before her and Benny Bunny would leave to wherever she left to. The girl appreciated the night stay he gave her and the breakfast, and insisted though that she was not going to leave though until he would as well. And so, they two came down the jagged pathway together. Their venture downwards to the forest clearing was not without its banter.

"You will have to be more mannerly. Manners are most attractive."

Jabberwock only pouted at this.

"I mean it!" Alice firmly insisted, shaking a finger up at him. "I admit I still need to work on mine but you mustn't be so snippy and rude. You'll only turn anyone you are interested away."

It was then that the large fellow got a bit of a twinkle in his eyes. He has always had his moments of being a smart alec and he was not going to let it go any time soon.

"What if my love interest is grumpy, too, hmm?" Jabberwock laughed a closed mouth chuckle. "They might find it appealing. Two peas in a pod, birds of a feather that sort of thing."

"Be a gentleman!" 

The dragon -- or so whatever he called himself, laughed again. He took a bit of amusement in her insistence. He could not hold himself back from a bit of teasing.

"Yes, mother!"

Benny Bunny was not amused even if Alice giggled a bit at his teasing. He crossed his arms and scowled up at the creature that was just so much bigger than him that if he ate him, it would be like eating a piece of popcorn. Still, he felt protective of his young owner, thinking he was just making fun of her.

"She's doing this for you. She doesn't have to!"

Alice gasped a bit, holding him close. He was feeling feisty and sometimes took off more than he could chew. 

"I do, Benny Bunny. He's a friend. He's only teasing."

Jabberwock only shook his head, in a rather pleasant mood, but still feeling a bit . . . Vulnerable. He looked around as they came to the grassy knoll and the little girl remained by his side, as if she was picking up on this. He did not know where to look for another dragon; he considered moving deeper into the woods, maybe looking behind his castle, where a volcano bubbled when it wanted. Maybe there were some in Wabe.

"I-I do not know where to look. Last I saw one was by the river. A few years back, though, and I have not seen one since."

Alice couldn't help but to feel pity for him. He was so nervous about all of this; had she been pushing him too hard? She thought about that for a moment but desperately wanted to see him move ahead with his life, and so she remained grounded. 

"What if they are too scared of me?" Jabberwock wondered out loud, wondering if perhaps that is why he has not seen many others about.

'Oh no, there he goes, trying to get of this. No, I cannot let him.'

Alice gave one of his giant feet a pat, as if pushing him to go past that forest clearing. "You are not that frightening."

"Not that frightening?" Benny protested.

"Not enough to scare other dragons, Benny. Shh."

Jabberwock ignored the rabbit's protest and moved ahead just a little ways from them. Maybe the fear so many had of him might be seen as attractive to another dragon, or maybe indeed it did make the others avoid him. Though at the moment, it would seem to both him and Alice alike that he was the one that was scared of other dragons. It had been too long since he socialized with others of his kind; would they accept him? Would they reject him, would they attack him, would they run from him, would they mock him?

Carefully, cautiously Jabberwock moved through the woods, clearing branches out of his face with his horns before they touched him, thanks in part to his sensitive whiskers which picked up their presence before they hit him in the face. He looked all around his surroundings; he memorized every tree and vine and plant and where each rock was, and so, he kept an eye out for anything unusual. When he heard a branch snapping, he snapped his head back, startled, thinking it may have been another of his kind or even the dreaded Beamish Boy, but he soon calmed. It was Alice, following curiously and he continued once again, not minding.

Benny whispered, thinking it was just all a wild dragon chase. "I do think it is a bit of a lost cause, Alice." 

Alice hushed him and followed Jabberwock as he moved deeper within the forest, hopping over the rocks over a stream where he chased her through. She had to move quickly; he was picking up the pace, and she hoped it was not him just trying to get rid of her, and to return to his castle. She had to be mindful of other creatures; there was something about a Jub Jub bird and something called a Bandersnatch, she heard, though she had not seen these creatures before.

The three of them were on this seemingly wild dragon chase for a good part of the day, with breaks in between taking them through the woods, the swamp, the edge of Wabe before they came to the meadowlands where Alice spent much of her time in. Jabberwock rarely ventured out here; he preferred the mysterious forest where he lived behind, he felt hidden there, in his element, not vulnerable, as he did in the open. 

"As I have said, did not expect to find any." Jabberwock sighed as he scanned his surroundings from his jaw-dropping height, still within the forest, his long head peering over some trees which were not exactly small themselves. 

Alice stepped out of the woods, looking up at him when she came within his eyesight. "Come on, Jabberwocky. We are not giving up."

Jabberwock sighed again and lowering his height, he followed her on, this time on all fours. His underside nearly touched the grass but he continued. Alice was stunned, not used to seeing him walk on anything other than his hind feet. His an almost swinging gait on all four legs was odd, slightly crocodilian and the proper term was lateral undulation, but he was able to keep a lower profile doing so, his head low, his neck stretched out. 

Lateral undulation came in handy though when he first met Alice when the others were being paraded before the queen. Jabberwock was caught between wanting to check her out while trying to keep a low profile. It did not quite work out, but he spared Alice from being arrested by the card guards, all because the queen disliked her name. While he made the queen faint from the shock of his enormous head peering over the balcony, Alice, and Benny made a getaway by sliding down his neck.

"I . . . I do not like being out in the open," Jabberwock explained, as if feeling he had to. "I feel out of my element out here. I -- "

He was suddenly cut off by a female voice that came from behind him, and froze in place, mid-step.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son "

Realizing the company that Jabberwocky was keeping, leaving out Benny Bunny, she corrected herself.

" . . . Daughter!"

The voice was almost harsh, somewhat mocking. It certainly was not Alice, whom he saw back off in the corner of his eyes. The accent was from a different region; indeed, it was an East London accent, with a hint of something else, perhaps Irish. He knew the speaker was not any of the queens; he knew each of their voices well and certainly did not see any croquet balls heading in his direction. He didn't recognize this voice before.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" Jabberwock demanded, harshly, his ears pinning back as he looked back behind him, rising again to his full height and he pushed his small wings forward in an attempt to put on a threat display. Being as small as they were it was ineffective at best, but he didn't know that.

And indeed, the one behind the voice appeared.

"Well, Pumpkin, here I am."

The voice still came through the trees, and soon revealed to be that of a tall lady dragon. She was a bit plump in build, white in colour, with almost a pearly sheen upon her scales. She had vivid blue eyes, and a short red mane running down the centre of her medium length neck. She had a long, whip like tail that she was avoiding keeping on the ground with, and a jade coloured forked scute at the end, which matched her jade dress and medium sized wings. She was middle aged, roughly the same age as the lavender one, maybe a touch older, with a jagged, jarring scar running width wise across her shorter muzzle which seemed to have aged her more.

Jabberwock was transfixed. She was beautiful, he thought, though others might disagree, but . . . She looked dangerous. Her eyes seemed to have bore right through him and he stayed still up until she came up to him, and he backed off, cautious. He nearly, accidentally stepped on Alice who was watching with curiosity, and he quickly apologized. 

"She's pretty, Jabberwock. Go say hi. I am sure she won't bite."

Jabberwock squawked, backing off again as she stepped forward. "Not so sure about that. She looks dangerous. Lethal. She's eyeing me as if I am something . . . Tasty."

Alice stayed her ground. If she could, she would push him back in the dragoness' direction. "Go say hi to her. Ladies like it when they compliment them. Maybe she's looking at you like that because maybe she thinks you are handsome."

"Me? Handsome" Jabberwock squawked out, wondering if she was being sarcastic and good at hiding it. "He who is so ugly he made clocks stop by staring at them?"

Alice nodded, firmly staying her ground at his balking. She believed what is unattractive to some might attract others; such as her little crush that she had on a school boy with large ears. The other girls scoffed at him.

"Yes. Go say hello to her."

Jabberwock swallowed and as if Alice indeed pushed him, he took a step forward and leaned down to pick a decent handful of dandelions and daisies growing among the gross. He felt so awkward, and it showed. 

'Ladies like confident gentlemen. Pull yourself together, Jabberwock.'

"Um . . . Hello." Jabberwock nervously bit his lower lip, and offered her the flowers as she stood before him before he got up to his full height once again. 

"That's a nice dress you are wearing. Matches your tail."

'Matches your tail?!'

The lady dragon let out a light laugh. She knew well of this fellow's reputation and was amused to see someone that had supposedly so feared by so many was acting like a nervous little school boy, wanting to ask the girl he had a crush on for a dance. 

'He's even more inexperienced than I thought. Strangely adorable, though.'

"Oh, why thank you . . . " The lady dragon smiled and took the flowers, and lightly brushed his cheek with them, running them along his jaw, looking him in the eyes.

"The jaws that bite . . . "

Jabberwock let out a nervous laugh, so caught up in this moment that he was unaware of the gathering of other Wonderlanders who were watching the spectacle fro across the meadow. Alice and Benny went to leave with them, wanting to give them a little space but still wanting to watch. Her curiosity forbade her from doing otherwise.

"W-well, yes, ah -- " He stammered nervously as she circled him, almost feeling her eyes settling on his large form, checking him out from head to toe.

As far as dragon beauty standards, she felt he wasn't conventionally handsome and leaning towards the awkward side. Typically, female dragons preferred males with larger wings; it meant they were of a higher social standing and strength, though she thought Jabberwock no doubt felt he was king being in that castle. She couldn't put any judgement on his portliness, she herself was a much leaner dragon at some point. Still, she couldn't resist giving him a poke in the side and he squeaked at this, followed by a scowl, much to her amusement. 

'Hm, a bit ticklish! And grumpy. Oh, he changes moods like the winds, he does. Still, I have not seen another like him before, though, and I have met many other dragons before but they haven't done it for me. I even suspect he's not all dragon but no matter. Nobody's perfect.'

"Neither of us are as thin as we used to, but I like it on you."

Jabberwock tilted his head, an expression of shock and a bit of suspicion, which grew as she placed an arm up behind his shoulders in a bold move. 

"You . . . Do?"

"Am I hearing an echo here?" The dragoness smirked, giving him a pat on the belly, and she got a surprised snort in return. 

"I said I do like it on ye. It suits ye, all this does."

Jabberwock folded his ears back, not sure what to think. This was the second time in a row where he wasn't being viewed as something completely repulsive and terrifying beyond all reason. It was something new and it often took him some time to get used to new things.  
"Thank you . . . ?" One of those new things was being complimented, especially on appearance; for a moment he thought she was being sarcastic.

"Welcome, my dear." 

She took a hold of Jabberwock's hand as he held it out after a moment. He may have been rusty at this dating and meeting up with other dragons, but he thought it was the proper thing to do. 

"The claws that catch . . . " She cooed as she looked at his hand, but then clicked her forked tongue at the roof of her mouth as she looked over his nails.

"Got grass in your nails, ye do. But not bad, not bad. At least they are catching something."

Jabberwock frowned a bit, one ear turned back against his head. "Yes, I was . . . Walking along here. On all fours. I don't get out much here and I feel more comfortable about keeping a low profile, you see."

She twisted her face, plucking the bit of grass of his nails like a motherly dragoness. "I figured as such, I do. I have been watching ye."

Jabberwock didn't pull his hand away, he rather . . . Liked that, her tending to her nails, but was now a little suspicious. How could she have seen him about, while he didn't know? She must have kept a low profile. Maybe she knew magic.

"You HAVE?"

The sudden raising of his voice at her, his attitude, earned him a poke in the nose by her claw. He gave out a surprised, smoky snort at this, letting go of her hand. Right off the bat, she would make it clear she wasn't going to let him push his weight around with her. 

"I have. You honestly didn't believe you were the only dragon out here in Wonderland, did you?" She scoffed, giving him repeated to the soft spot on his muzzle until he was backed up against some prickly vines. She felt he was being a bit cocky, maybe testing his waters.

Jabberwock let out a squeak, feeling a poke to the root of his tail. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I -- I did, actually. Haven't seen one for at least four years."

She frowned a bit, and patted him on the back of his hand after she took it again. "Somehow not surprised. You hole yourself up there so much that you don't get out to see if there are any more of us, don't ye?"

Jabberwock nodded with a frown. This lady was feistier than his dear Hannah, but . . . There was something about her. She was certainly forward and take no prisoners, and strangely, rather intriguing. He wanted to know more about her, though he still felt very awkward, shy, even, since she has taken his grumpy posturing down a few notches.

"I still don't know who you are, how you know me." Cautiously, though with some curiosity, after a moment Jabberwock started to circle her.

'So many questions I have for her. And I wouldn't know the first thing to look for in a suitable mate, but she does seem keen to me.'

The dragoness gave a little shrug, rather liking being a bit mysterious to him and enjoyed him circling her. It was not in the same manner as she had, he was more curious than anything with caution thrown in, but did catch him eyeing her figure now and then, coyly, but he was, and just to be a bit playful, she gave a swish of her tail in his direction and he would then pretend he wasn't.

"I've watched ye, that's how. I hear the words being said, the stories others tell."

Jabberwock shrunk a bit, his tail curling around him. "I haven't seen you though. I would know if I saw another dragon. Do you know any magic? I dabble in it a bit, but -- "

"Maybe . . . " The dragoness smirked, not wanting to give everything away about how she managed to watch him on his outings without his acknowledgement.

"Aren't you going to ask who her name is?" Asked a voice from within the trees, which was recognizable of that as belonging to the Cheshire Cat. The mysterious orange striped felid appeared, standing on the branch of a tree, leaning his weight casually against the trunk. 

That question earned another smoky snort from Jabberwock, this time towards his feline friend.

"In due time!" 

"Sometime this century, maybe?" The Cheshire Cat teased, as his image faded from view. His grin hung on until it too disappeared in proper Cheshire Cat fashion. He just saved his momentarily nervous woodland companion from the question; having been watching in secrecy, he had figured he would be too timid at the moment to ask.

The dragoness shook her head, and then touched Jabberwock's cheek. "Harriet. My name is Harriet. But please, call me Hattie."

For the first time since their encounter, Jabberwock smiled, even blushing a bit at her touch. "Nice name, very nice." He paused, trying to compose himself, and he cleared his throat with a gentlemanly bow.

"Allow me to introduce myself, Hattie. I am Jabberwock."

'My, my, I do have him a wee bit flustered. He is trying to be somewhat gentlemanly, I will have to give him that.'

Harriet laughed a bit, playing a little with that golden hair that she found to be oddly charming, before bringing her hand back to his cheek. 

"Yes, yes I know."

Jabberwock blushed again, realizing. Indeed, her knowing about him made him at once fascinated and just a touch wary of her. He rubbed the back of his neck, again, feeling that little sliver of suaveness slip away from him. He hadn't tried suave for a while. A long while. He was out of practice.

"Oh, yes. Quite silly of me."

Harriet placed her hand underneath his chin when he looked down at the ground, bringing his eyes to meet with her's once again. He didn't resist, and indeed even looked fascinated, searching into her eyes as she did with him. 

"You don't quite have eyes that flame. But you'll do." She teased, and gave him a light kiss on the nose. 

Jabberwock felt . . . Warm, from that little kiss. Warm with a little more assurance. Things seemed to be doing good; Alice shouldn't need to push him more. Harriet wasn't exactly rejecting him, and sure, she had scoffed at him but she was not pushing him away either; perhaps that was just her way. He also didn't feel like running away from her now. 

"Maybe not, but when the lighting hits them just right, they do gleam. I do think it puts others on edge, especially when the light hits my claws in the same manner, at the same time. I could be having the time of my life at a masquerade ball, but I did give everyone a good scare when my eyes and claws were a'twinkle and my identity was revealed. Everyone a scatter! Perhaps I should have used gloves . . . "  
"Oh yes, such a brute you are." Harriet gave a wink.

From there, Harriet traced a finger along Jabberwock's jawline, taking amusement at the slight thumping from his foot from such a touch. Several small creatures ran through the grass as he did so. She kept it up with the jaw scritching for a moment, thinking most of the Wonderlanders were cowards and fools to begin with but found amusement in his telling of the lobster quadrille incident. He seemed at once amused and astonished by it.

'My, I do have quite the effect on him . . . '

"Forgot how much I liked that, heh . . . " 

'Enough jabbering, old boy! Kiss her back, it is the proper thing. But oh, this is nice . . . Yes, very nice, but kiss her.'

Jabberwock, to Harriet's surprise, who was wondering if he was going to reciprocate affection, gently though with some cautious shake, cupped her face in his clawed hands. He ran a thumb along her cheeks, and then leaned in, kissing her on the top of her muzzle after gently turning her head down a bit, right over the scar. She wasn't as soft in the face as he was, probably in part due to his being a hybrid but . . . Nice, so nice.

'He . . . Kissed my scar.'

The scar was from an encounter with another dragon. A nasty fellow, who didn't take too kindly to being rebuked from his advances. She would wait for the right time to tell Jabberwock; part of her was scared to tell him, thinking he would be hurt badly when he would invariably have a go at him. This was a fitter dragon, younger, with large wings but nastier. Nature told her that this younger male would be more suitable, would produce strong, healthy offspring but she wasn't going to have any of it from him.

'Harriet didn't bite your face off, 'Wock. So far, . . . You have done well. Now, though, hug her. Go make her feel like these feelings you haven't felt in so many years. She deserves it.'

Jabberwock hugged Harriet, at first almost timidly, as if she would break or even bite him, and then she hugged him back, tighter. She touched him along his suted back and softer side, as if wordlessly telling him, reminding him, that she accepted him. Whatever the reason, Jabberwock was not complaining even when the odd claw was dug in, and he reciprocated the caress.

Harriet whispered as he rubbed his head against her's, and she smiled again as he heard him letting out a whiffle and burble in contentment, relief. He did make those sounds, as the legend said. It was also then that she came to the realization that she too would no longer be on her own.

"Alone no more, my J-wock. Alone no more."


End file.
